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B. B. MORGAN.

RAILWAY SIGNAL.

No. 572,269. Patented Dec. 1 1896.

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B. B. MORGAN. RAILWAY SIGNAL.

No. 572,269. Patented Dec. 1, 1896.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN B. MORGAN, OF YPSILANTI, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO THE MORGAN SIGNAL COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

RAILWAY-SIGNAL.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 572,269, dated December 1, 1896.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, BENJAMIN B. MORGAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ypsilanti, county of Washtenaw, State of Michigan, have invented a certain new .and useful Improvement in Railway-Signals; and I declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification. This invention relates to signals for railways, and has for its object improvements in that class of signals in which an indicating apparatus is set to a position to indicate danger from one station and is released or changed to indicate safety from another station, or the first station from that one from which the danger-signal is set and the last station from that which the danger-signal is released may be united, and the dilferent indications may be brought about by a difierence in direct-ion of the actuating movement. The actuation of the signal in either case .is through the instrumentality of a bellows mechanism containing air that is forced from one part of the signal-stations to another and thus conveys force from one location to another.

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows in section the air-pan or bellows adapted to be actuated by the passage of 'a train and in turn to actuate a signal either close beside it or at a distance from it; Fig. 2 is a detail, on a larger scale than Fig. 1, of a part of the mech-' anism shown in Fig. Fig. 3 shows in sec- 'tional elevation the signal and the mechanism immediately connected with it. Fig. 3 is a detail of the upper end of the arm 9 of Fig. 3. Fig. 4 is a detail, in section and on a large scale, of the adjusting apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

The device shown in Figs. 1 to at, inclusive,

operates on a circuit in which there is pro-- of a bellows 5.

Application filed February 12, 1896- Serial No. 578,975. (No model.)

distance from the mechanism shown in Fig.

3, and a force exerted to compress air in the bellows of the device shown in Fig. 1 will be transmitted with great rapidity to the bellows of the apparatus shown in Fig. 3, and will actuate the semaphore-arm so quickly that the application of the force and the action on the semaphore arm are practically simultaneous.

The force is applied by the tread of the train-wheel engaging over a spring-rail 2 and depressing the track end of the lever 2 The other end of this lever first acts against a buffer-spring 2, through which spring the force is transmitted to a plunger 2 and a plungerhead 2 Above the plunger-head is a flexible diaphragm 3, which constitutes one part plate convex downward and bearing against the diaphragm 6 Out from the chamber 6, through one of its walls,leads the pipe 8;

The upper end of the spring 7 bears against the casing A, which guards the entire structure.

When the lower bellows is distended, as it The upper Wall of the bel is normally at all times when the spring-rail 2 is not depressed, air can enter through the inlet-pipe 4, as it will find its Way around the check-valve 4*; but when the rail 2 is suddenly depressed and the plunger-head 2 thrown upward the bellows 5 is contracted, and the air forced quickly past the valve 5 lifts the flexible diaphragm 6 against the force of the spring 7, and this, reacting, forces the airout through the pipe 8 and into the bellows 9 of Fig. Afterthe bellows has been contracted by the passage of a train Over the spring-rail 2 the bellows gradually descends to its normal position by the inflow of air around the check-valve 4.

In Fig. 3, 9 indicates a bellows the lower half of which is inflexible and the upper half of which is flexible and bears against a plunger-head 9". Above the plunger-head is a rod rising through the semaphore-post B to the semaphore-arm 0. Around the pivot of the semaphore-arm 9 are two straps, each of which is secured at one end to the drum. One of them, 9, is wound on the drum with a right-hand wind, and the other, 9, is wound thereon with a left wind. The end of the strap 9 is made fast to the upper end of the semaphore-rod 9". The other, 9, is made fast to the same rod at a distance below the end. )Vhenever the rod 9 is lifted the strap 9 is unwound from the drum and the strap 9 is wound on the drum and the drum itself is rotated or partly rotated on its axis and the position of the semaphore arm corre spondingly changed.

The lower part of the semaphore-post is large enough to contain within its interior the bellows 9 and the mechanism connected with it, and also to contain the hook by which the rod 9 is sustained after it has been lifted by the distention of the bellows 9 9. On the rod 9 is a block 9 and on the frame of the postB is a hanging hook 10, (see Fig. 2,) that engages under the lower edge of the block. The hook is released and set for a second action when the train passes a distant station. (similar to the one shown in Fig. 1 and already described) by the mechanism hereinafter described.

Theair entering through the pipe 8 fills the chamber between the fixed inflexible bellows-wall 10 and the flexible wall 10 and lifts the head 10, and the stem 10 lifts the joint of the togglelevers 10 10 retracts the hook 10, and leaves the rod 9 free to drop.

Through the fixed bellows-wall 10 is an opening closed by a plug 10 that extends downward through a collar D, past an air-outlet 10,

, through the coils of a spring 10, and has secured to its end a yoke 10, which reaches around the bellows and terminates with an eye a, through which is threaded the stem 10. The eye a is so located that the head 10 will contact it immediately after the bellows has been expanded and the rod 10 lifted high enough to release the hook 10. If now the flexible wall'continues to expand, thehead 10, engaging the yoke 10 at the eye a, lifts the yoke and the plug 10 until there is a free outlet of air through the opening 10 and a by-pass D in the stem of the plug 10 The escaping air soon reduces the internal pressure, the head 10 drops by gravity, and the yoke 10" and plug 10 are pushed back to their normal position by the spring 10.

In connection with the bellows 9 9 is a safety appliance which prevents the rod from being lifted too high, and also opens a valve to permit the escape of air and to allow the rod to drop when the hook 10 is disengaged.

From the bottom part 9 of the bellows hang two lugs e, which support a lever f, and to the rod 9 above the bellows is fixed a crossarm 9. One end of the cross-arm 9 is loosely connected to the long arm of the lever f by a bolt 9, that is pinned to the long end of the lever f and is loosely connected to one end of the cross-arm 9. An opening through the inflexible bellows-head 9 is closed by a valve 9, and this valve is fixed to the short arm of the lever f and is opened by the action of the cross-arm 9, link 9, and lever f. This result is accomplished whenever the flexible diaphragm 9 is expanded to an extent more than enough to lift the semaphore-rod 9 into holding engagement with the hook 10 and the surplus air is allowed to escape. The semaphore does not drop because the hook 10 holds it from dropping, but the bellows is in 0011- dition to permit the arm to slowly descend as soon as the hook is released in the way already described. After the hook 10 has been re leased there remains usually a quantity of air confined in the bellows. This is allowed to escape by opening the same valve 9 by the following-described means: To the short end of the leverf is hinged an arm 9 that reaches upward and engages the end of the cross-arm 9, which at its engaging end terminates in a hook 9. The upper end of the arm 9 is provided with a wing 19, and is curved so that its extreme upper edge lies outside the hook 9 but lower down the curved face of the wing bends toward the rod 9 and lies in the path of the arm 9, and as the rod descends the arm 9 and the short arm of the lever are pushed downward. As the rod 9 slowly drops downward the arm 9 yields outward, and thereby opens the valve 9 and allows the air to escape until the hook 9 shall have passed the lower edge of the wing 19 and the rod 9 has reached its lowest point. The arm 9 is then retracted by the spring 9, which is arranged to hold the arm substantially upright with respect to the lever, and the weighted lever will close the valve 9. When the semaphore-arm is again lifted by a fresh impulse given from some distant station, the arm 9 passes upon the outside of the wing 19.

Provision is made for the complete empty in g of any air (above normal pressure) from the bellows 10 (the hook-actuating bellows of Fig. 3) should a following train enter .casing A in which is the main or primary bellows by which the semaphore-arm is set. This bellows is quite similar in construction to those already described, but maybe much smaller.

The upper flexible diaphragm 11 actuates a lever 11, and this lever actuates a valve in the pipe 8, instantly relieving that pipe and the bellows with which it is connected from air-pressure.

What I claim is 1. In a pneumatic railway-signal, the combination of a signal and signal-rod, a bellows adapted to actuate the signal-rod, and provided with a valve stopped vent, a lever adapted to actuate the valve, and means actuated by the signal-rod whereby the valve is opened whenever the rod passes prescribed limits in either direction, substantially as described.

2. In a pneumatic signal for railways, in combination with the signal and the rod, a catch adapted to engage with and sustain the same, a link adapted to actuate the catch, and a pneumatic bellows adapted to actuate the link, substantially as described.

3. In a pneumatic signal for railways, the combination of a train actuated lever, an actuating-station and a signal-station, both provided with bellows, means of communication between the two bellows, a catch adapted to engage with and sustain the signal, a link adapted to actuate the catch, and a pneumatic bellows adapted to actuate the link,

substantially as set forth.

4. In a pneumatic railway-signal, the combination of a signal and signal-rod, bellows adapted to operate the signal-rod, and provided with a valve stopped vent, a lever adapted to actuate the valve, and means actuated by the signal-rod whereby the valve is opened whenever the rod passes prescribed limits, and means for retaining the valve open until the signal-rod has returned to another prescribed limit, and thence closing said valve, thereby cushioning the further passage of said signal-rod, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

BENJAMIN l3. MORGAN.

\Vitnesses:

MARION A. REEVE, FRANCES CLOUGH. 

